Many of the lyrics are sketches of provincial everyday life: a young bird falling from its nest, a famous person in the village, a local funeral, scenes from the local pub or just waking up with a hangover.
Established in 1985, the band called themselves The Legendary Texas Four until Jack Poels joined as the new frontman. He joined on the condition that he wanted to add at least one song in the Limburg dialect to the band's repertoire. The other members agreed. Rowwen Hèze was born.
Rowwen Hèze translates loosely as 'Rough Hesen' and was the nickname of a notorious character from the village, Christiaan Hesen (1853-1947). Under this new name, the band started covering songs from Thin Lizzy. The band also wrote Dutch party songs for the annual carnival in the southern Netherlands.
The band saw two members leave in the early years. Mart Deckers (drums) and Geert Hermkes (accordeon) left the band. The line-up that was formed in 1991 is still intact today and has been unchanged for 29 years and counting.
- Jack Poels (lead singer, guitar)
- Tren van Enckevort (accordeon, piano, trombone)
- Jan Philipsen (bass)
- Theo Joosten (guitar, mandoline, tin whistle, percussion)
- Jack Haegens (trumpet, trombone, percussion)
The band's 1992 performance at Limburg's Pinkpop Festival was a breakthru moment. The band's set was shown live on Dutch television. At the time, the band had four studio albums under its belt: Rowwen Hèze (1987), Blieve loepe (1990), Boem (1991) and the live album, In de weiIn De Wei (1992). Their party anthem, Bestel mar (1992) hit #13 in the Dutch Top 40, still their highest charting single.
This pattern of three studio LPs and a live album repeated itself in the 1990s: Station America (1993), Zondag in het Zuiden (1995) and Water, lucht en liefde were followed by a 1999 live album entitled 't Beste van 2 werelden (1999), this time a recording of Rowwen Hèze semi-acoustic theatre incarnation.
The steady stream of albums continued in the 21st century.
Studio albums
Vandaag (2000)
Dageraad (2003)
Rodus & Lucius (2006)
Zilver (2010)
Manne van staal (2011)
Geal (2012)
Hemel op aarde: De liedjes (2013)
Vur altied: Ballades & Beer (2016)
De liefde, de muziek, de herinnering (2017)
Voorwaartsch (2019)
Onderaan beginne(2021)
Live albums:
D.A.D.P.G.S. (2003)
Andere wind (2004)
Saus (2008)
Wear of gen wear: Slotconcert 2019 (2019)
Compilation album:
Kilomeaters: 't beste van 20 joar Rowwen Hèze (2005)
Official site: www.rowwenheze.nl
Beer
Rowwen Hèze Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
ik bin d'r net nog gewest
doar woene minse hiel intressant
ver weg van de rest
ge loept ierst dor 'n bos
langs 'n bochtige beak
en de deur die is altied los
zeuve daag in de week
al sluut de herfst hard um zich hin
ze hebbe muziek en altied te drinke
beer, heel veul liters lang, lekker zet mar neer, beer beer beer, goei de glaas mar vol, lekker, geaf mar heer
't weit d'r altied hiel hard
de roek keumt dwars oet de schouw
en soms inens wuurdt d'n hemel zwart
dus dan motte wel gauw
dicht bij 't veur, enne gloeiende haard
'n zachte bank, um in weg te zinke
't verslete biljard, op 't stoffig tapijt
en iemand di vrugt: wat zulle we drinke?
de latste
nog iene, di giet d'r in vur onderweag
din drinke ze leag
en dan zinge ze net zo lang totdat ze gen verschil meer zeen tusse 'n kont
en 'n gaat in de grond
The lyrics of Rowwen Hèze's song "Beer" describe a beautiful place that the singer has recently visited. The location is full of interesting people who are far away from the rest of the world. The journey to this place starts with a walk through the forest along a winding stream, and the door is always open for visitors. The people who live here are always in high spirits, with sparkling eyes and radiant smiles, even when the autumn season is at its peak. They have music playing all the time and they always have plenty of beer to drink. The chorus of the song repeatedly mentions the word "beer" and encourages the listener to fill their glass with the delicious drink.
The place is always windy and the smoke comes out of the chimney in a zigzag manner. Sometimes, the sky suddenly turns black and people have to hurry inside and sit near the warm fireplace, on a comfortable bench. There is a billiard table in the corner, with a dusty carpet underneath it. When people ask what they should drink, someone suggests the last one, and then one more. They keep drinking until they can no longer tell the difference between a hole in the ground and someone's rear. Throughout the song, the singer depicts this place as an oasis in the middle of nowhere, where people can forget about their worries and just enjoy each other's company with some beer and music.
Line by Line Meaning
Ik ken 'n moei land
I know of a beautiful land
ik bin d'r net nog gewest
I was just there recently
doar woene minse hiel intressant
Where interesting people lived
ver weg van de rest
Far away from everything and everyone else
ge loept ierst dor 'n bos
You first walk through a forest
langs 'n bochtige beak
Along a winding brook
en de deur die is altied los
And the door is always unlocked
zeuve daag in de week
Seven days a week
en doar zitte ze daan, ze hebbe altied goj zin, stroalende lag en oege die blinke
And there they are, always in a good mood, with shining eyes and radiant smiles
al sluut de herfst hard um zich hin
Even when autumn closes in hard around them
ze hebbe muziek en altied te drinke
They have music and always something to drink
beer, heel veul liters lang, lekker zet mar neer, beer beer beer, goei de glaas mar vol, lekker, geaf mar heer
Beer, many liters long, delicious, just set it down, beer beer beer, fill up the glass well, delicious, just give it here
't weit d'r altied hiel hard
It's always very windy there
de roek keumt dwars oet de schouw
The smoke comes out crosswise from the chimney
en soms inens wuurdt d'n hemel zwart
And sometimes suddenly the sky turns black
dus dan motte wel gauw
So then you must hurry
dicht bij 't veur, enne gloeiende haard
Close to the fireplace, with a glowing fire
'n zachte bank, um in weg te zinke
A soft bench to sink into
't verslete biljard, op 't stoffig tapijt
The worn-out billiard table, on the dusty carpet
en iemand di vrugt: wat zulle we drinke?
And someone who asks: what shall we drink?
de latste
The last one
nog iene, di giet d'r in vur onderweag
One more, who takes one for the road
din drinke ze leag
Then they drink it down
en dan zinge ze net zo lang totdat ze gen verschil meer zeen tusse 'n kont
And then they sing until they can no longer tell the difference between a rear end and a hole in the ground
Contributed by Samantha J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.